Never Cross A Black Cat
by thorny21
Summary: Kanda learns about superstitions on Halloween the hard way...


It was Halloween Day at the Black Order and Allen Walker was walking down the street with Kanda beside him.

"I can't wait to celebrate tonight!" the snowy haired teen cried in his excitement.

"Tonight?" Kanda asked, confused. "What's tonight?" Allen looked at the bluenette beside him in astonishment. Surely he knew what holiday it was!

"It's Halloween! We dress up in costumes and get candy for free!" he explained, visions of the sweet treats appearing before his eyes.

"Why would anyone do that?" Kanda questioned. He wasn't sure what the point of dressing up and getting candy from perfect strangers was.

"It's fun!" Allen chirped. "Mana used to take me every year before he died." Kanda fell silent thinking over what the white haired teen had told him. He wasn't too sure about it but it could be fun, right? Kanda had no intention of voicing that to the boy beside him. As they continued down the street Allen suddenly reached his arm out and stopped Kanda from moving any further.

"What are you doing, Moyashi?" Kanda demanded.

"We have to go this way," Allen said, grabbing the bluenette and pulling him in a different direction.

"What for?" Kanda asked uncertainly. Was there an Akuma in the area he couldn't sense?

"Black cat," Allen said simply.

"Huh? You want us to take even longer getting back cause of a cat?" Kanda yelled.

"Black cats are bad luck," Allen retorted. "Especially on Halloween."

"Why is that?" asked Kanda. He really was unfamiliar with such a myth.

"Black cats are witches companions," Allen explained. "If they cross your path you'll have bad luck." Kanda raised a brow at his travel companion and shook his head. There was no way any creature as cute as the small kitty in front of them was bad luck. Besides he didn't believe in witches anyway.

Kanda shook his head and yanked away from Allen's grasp, turning to go back the way he had been originally going.

"Kanda! Don't go that way!" Allen warned. He didn't want to see anything bad happen to the blue haired Exorcist for daring to challenge a black cat in his path.

"This is the fastest way to go!" Kanda retorted over his shoulder. Allen watched as the samurai went back the way he came, going past the black cat without a second glance. He just knew something bad was going to happen to the elder teen but Kanda was just too stubborn to listen to his warnings.

Kanda made it past the cat without incident and Allen breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing bad had happened to him.

"See? Nothing happened!" Kanda pointed out as he turned to face the teen while walking backwards.

"Kanda look out!" Allen yelled, his arm outstretched. Kanda whirled around just in time to see a run-away horse and buggy careening towards him. He managed to jump out of the way a moment before the horse trampled past where he'd just been standing.

"Shit that was close!" Kanda yelled, his hand going to Mugen. Allen raced over to him with concern written all over his face. He grabbed the bluenette's hand to stop him from turning the horse and carriage into shish kabobs.

"Are you okay?" he cried as he stopped the older teen.

"I'm fine," Kanda replied. "Just a freak accident." Allen looked at him incredulously and shook his head.

"It was no accident!" he shouted. "It's bad luck! I told you not to cross the cat!"

"Nonsense, there's no such thing as bad luck," Kanda retorted. "Let's go." With that the ponytail wearing Exorcist continued on his way back to the Black Order. They still had a way to go to get through the village before reaching the large building that was their destination.

"Kanda! Wait up!" Allen demanded when the other boy headed off without him.

Allen caught up to Kanda with ease and they walked side by side once again. The snowy haired teen looked around nervously for anything that could possibly cause bad luck.

"I can't believe you're so scared of this Halloween thing," Kanda stated. "It doesn't sound like fun." Allen had a huge grin on his face as he remembered the many times he had gone out with Mana.

"It's a lot of fun," he told Kanda. "You get to dress up as whatever you want and then get free candy just given to you."

"What's the point of it?" asked Kanda. He still didn't understand the point of the October holiday.

"Why it's an old tradition!" Allen exclaimed. "It goes back generations!" Kanda glanced at his companion before looking away once more.

"So it's really old," he said. "What exactly was it for?" Allen looked over at the boy next to him before bringing his hand up to his chin.

"Hmm…," Allen thought. What would be the best way to explain it to Kanda?

"Is it something important?" asked Kanda. Before the snowy haired teen could respond they came upon a ladder that was set up on the sidewalk. Allen froze up as they came up to it. Kanda paid no attention as he walked directly under it with no hesitation at all.

"Look out, Kanda!" Allen cried as he went around the ladder. Kanda looked up in time to see a bucket of paint fall off the ladder and land on his head, coating him with bright purple paint.

"Damn…I just had this coat dry cleaned," Kanda complained as the purple liquid flowed down his face.

"I keep telling you you have to be careful on Halloween," Allen stated as he offered the paint covered teen a handkerchief to clean off his face.

"I don't believe in bad luck, Allen," Kanda stated. "This is all just a coincidence."

"Coincidence or not you need to get cleaned up," Allen sighed. He just wasn't going to get through to the blue haired boy.

"There's a bathroom over there, young man," a voice said from above them. Kanda and Allen looked up to see an older man standing at the top of the ladder looking down at them.

"Thank you, sir," Allen stated with a smile.

"No problem, kid," the older man replied. "You should refrain from doing things that cause bad luck."

"There's no such thing as bad luck!" Kanda growled. He just didn't believe in it and couldn't understand why Allen would.

The duo made it to the bathroom without incident and while Kanda was busy washing as much of the paint out of his hair and off his face as possible Allen was trying to clean his coat as best he could. After drying his face, Kanda looked up into the bathroom mirror at his image. All of the paint was gone from his face but there was still streaks of the purple liquid that remained in his long blue locks.

"Dammit!" Kanda hissed, hitting his fist against the mirror. Allen's eyes went wide in horror.

"Don't do that!" he yelled but it was too late. The mirror shattered into many pieces and some fell into the sink. Kanda looked at his now distorted reflection blankly.

"Just great…," he muttered. From the snowy haired teen's expression Kanda could tell this was something else he was going to get a lecture on.

"This has to be the worst bad luck of all!" Allen cried as he shook his head. Kanda didn't even bother to turn around. He simply closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Why is that, Moyashi?" he bit out. This Halloween bad luck thing was beginning to grate on his nerves.

"Breaking a mirror gives you seven years of bad luck!" Allen exclaimed.

"I'll just fix the damn mirror then it'll go away," Kanda sighed. "That works, right?" He opened his eyes only to see Allen shaking his head once more.

"You must wait seven hours before picking up the broken pieces," Allen explained. "Then you must bury them outside in the moonlight." Kanda turned around at that hastily.

"Seven hours? That will make us even later!" he yelled, somewhat annoyed. Allen thought for a few minutes and set his bag down. He opened it and pulled out one of his white shirts.

"You could always take the mirror pieces with you," he said. "Then just bury them tonight at the Order." Kanda nodded his agreement.

"That could work…hey!" he yelped. "I don't believe in bad luck. Let's just go."

"But Kanda…," Allen started but trailed off when the bluenette walked out of the bathroom without him.

As soon as they stepped outside a bird swooped down and snatched the hair tie Kanda had been holding. He had just pulled his hair back up into its usual ponytail when the bird swooped down and took it. Kanda got an anime twitch and his hand went to his katana at his waist.

"Mugen, activate!" he yelled as he pulled it free. Before Allen could react Kanda slashed at the sky, striking the bird and making it fall to the ground.

"Oh no…," Allen said as he walked up to the animal. "You killed a sparrow!" Kanda resheathed Mugen and stalked up to the boy.

"It stole something of mine," he said simply. "I will not tolerate thievery." He bent down and yanked the hair tie away from the bird's beak and quickly put his hair up.

"Sparrows carry the souls of the dead!" Allen informed his companion. "It's very bad luck if you kill one!"

"I told you I don't…hey!" Kanda started but trailed off when the snowy haired teen latched onto his arm and yanked him over to the nearest restaurant.

"Quick! I need salt!" Allen told the woman at the counter.

"Salt? Whatever for?" the plump woman asked cheerily. Allen jerked his thumb at Kanda who still looked somewhat bewildered.

"He just killed a sparrow!" he replied. The plump woman's eyes went wide and she rushed from the counter into the back. A lot of crashing and banging was heard before the woman reappeared once more, carrying a small sack with her.

"Here! Take it outside and do it quickly!" she cried, thrusting the bag into Kanda's hands.

"What the…?" Kanda said, startled at the woman's brashness.

"Go, boy! Hurry!" the woman pleaded, pushing both boys back out the door. Allen grabbed Kanda's arm once again and raced back to where the bird was laying.

"Take a pinch of salt from the bag and throw it over your left shoulder!" Allen instructed.

"Why?" Kanda sighed as he looked at the younger boy. This was all such nonsense!

"To ward off the bad luck, of course!" the smaller Exorcist exclaimed. He couldn't believe Kanda was this dense when it came to bad luck and superstitions.

"Do I have to?" Kanda asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. Really this was ridiculous!" Allen reached forward and took a pinch of the salt out of the bag Kanda held and placed it into the teen's hand.

"No just toss it over your shoulder," he commanded. The look he was giving the bluenette left no room for arguments. Kanda rolled his eyes and threw the salt as he was told.

"Better, Moyashi?" he asked with a sigh.

"Yes!" Allen chirped happily. "Lets go, we're almost there!"

Kanda shook his head and began to walk off once more, not bothering to wait for his travel companion. He just wanted to get back home where he could retreat to his room and sit in peace until Halloween was over. As they walked it began to get cloudy and soon it began to rain.

"Just great," Allen thought out loud. "Is it going to get any worse?" He pulled up the hood on his coat and began to walk faster.

"If the rain bothers you we'll take a carriage back," Kanda said. He'd do anything to get away from the white haired boy as soon as its possible.

"Fine, anything to not have to walk in the rain," Allen agreed. They found a small lean-to to get out of the rain until they could flag down a ride. They waited for about forty-five minutes before a carriage came by.

"Hey do you need a ride?" the man on top asked. Allen and Kanda were both relieved to see the man was actually a Finder.

"Yes. Moyashi doesn't want to walk in the rain," Kanda told him as he came towards the carriage.

"Kanda…not that one!" Allen whispered, latching onto the teen's arm.

"Why now?" Kanda hissed. Surely there was nothing bad about getting a ride was there?

"It's carriage 13! It's bad luck!" Allen hissed. Kanda turned on the white haired boy and grabbed his hand.

"Look, all I've heard from you is bad luck, bad luck!" he growled. "There's no such thing as bad luck so get your damn ass in the carriage!" With that Kanda opened the door and picked up the teen, shoving him inside out of the rain.

"Ah Kanda! No!" Allen protested but Kanda followed after him and sat by the door, blocking any escape from the young boy.

"Go, Finder!" Kanda yelled.

"Okay!" the Finder replied and they took off towards the Black Order once again. Allen was sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest, his chin resting on top and his arms wrapped around his legs.

"What's your problem now, Moyashi?" Kanda asked, not looking at him. He could tell the boy was nervous about something.

"Don't you know the number 13 is bad luck?" Allen asked quietly.

"Why? It's just a number," Kanda pointed out. Allen all but jumped to his feet at that.

"It's an unlucky number!" he cried. "Ever notice how the thirteenth floor of the Order isn't labeled?" Kanda tilted his head at that.

"Never noticed," he deadpanned. A sweat drop formed on Allen's head and he sat back down, falling silent once more.

Soon the carriage came to a stop and the teens inside looked around. They were finally back at the Black Order. The driver jumped down and quickly opened the door for the Exorcists.

"Back safe and sound," the man said with a smile. Kanda said nothing as Allen pushed past him and practically dove out of the carriage.

"Thank you," Kanda nodded as he went out behind the boy.

"No problem, Exorcist-sama," the Finder said with a bow. Allen waited for the samurai to join him before they both headed inside. They were greeted by Komui and Lenalee when they came in.

"Welcome back, Kanda and Allen," Komui said happily. "I trust things went well?"

"It was fine," Kanda stated. "Here's the Innocence." He pulled the green glowing sphere out of his pocket and handed it to the head of the Black Order.

"Thank you," Komui said. "I'll make sure Hevlaska receives it." Kanda nodded as the dark haired man walked away.

"Come on, Allen! I bet your hungry!" Lenalee said. Allen clutched his stomach and groaned.

"Starving!" he whined. Lenalee laughed and wrapped her arm around his waist.

"Well come on then! Jerry cooked up a bunch just for you!" she said.

"Food!" Allen cried as the duo raced away. "Man I love Jerry!" Kanda shook his head at the boy's antics. He didn't think he'd ever change when it came to food. Tossing the thoughts aside, Kanda headed for his own room, eager to change and get a shower.

He walked down the long hall, unconsciously checking out the numbers on the door as he did so. He stopped just in front of his own when he noticed his door had no number on it.

"Hmm…that explains a lot," he mused. He looked at the door on his left to see it was number 12, the door on his right the number 14.

"Hmph…no such thing as bad luck," he muttered as he opened the door and went in. Two hours later Kanda was still in his room laying on his bed and looking out the window. It was early afternoon and sitting in the tree just outside was a fat owl watching him. He paid no attention to the bird as it continued to look into his room. He turned his head towards his door when he heard Allen and Lavi talking.

"…he even killed a sparrow!" Allen was heard saying.

"Doesn't he know that's bad luck?" Lavi gasped.

"I told him repeatedly!" Allen replied. Kanda could just picture the boy nodding his head enthusiastically.

"He hit on all of the bad luck myths today," Lavi said.

"Yup, it's a good thing he didn't see an owl in the daylight," Allen said. At that Kanda sat up wide-eyed, straining his ears as he listened intently.

"Why's that?" asked Lavi.

"If an owl looks in your window or if you see one in the daytime," Allen started. "You'll have bad luck and possibly death bestowed upon you." Kanda's eyes went wider at that and he turned towards the window. The owl was still sitting on the branch watching him. Kanda reached up and grabbed the cord to the shades.

"I see nothing," he stated as he pulled the shades in place and laid back down, closing his eyes and falling asleep.

**A/N: I know this is pure crack and I'm not entirely sure why I wrote it but oh well. I hope you all enjoy it anyway. Please read and review! As always any flames will be used to light the candles on my jack-o-lantern on All Hallow's Eve!**


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